Help I have found a worm....

[wild-tiger]

Ok, for some reason worms in the water creep me out, so when I spotted this dude last night, well, lets just say it wasn't pretty...

It's living inside of a rock, was stretched out about 2 - 3 inches in length. It was segmented much like an earthworm with a rounded head again like a earthworm. It was dark (the lights were out) when I first saw it and I flicked the light on to check it out and it moved faster than anything I have ever seen, it was like sucked back into the hole in the rock. So off the lights went, I waited a while and came back and checked again...sure enough it was stretched out but this time I used a piece of red plastic over the flashlight to get a better look. It appeared to be mostly tanish colored with some dark bars also towards the head area.

Any ideas what this could be? Is it harmful? Do I need to remove it and if so, what would be the best way.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[LeslieH]

It's a polychaete but to id it in order to have some idea of its behavior & feeding I really need a picture.

 

[zenya]

Your descriptions match characteristics of the intoverts of Sipunculan worms, I spot them often at night in my tank extending those introverts to probe the sand and other areas of live rock.
Here;s an article about Sipunculans

PS.Are you sure it was segmented? If it was, then it can;t be a penut worm.

 

[wild-tiger]

Ok, after reading that, I do believe that is the worm that I have seen and since they are a detritivore, I should have nothing to worry about correct?

 

[zenya]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9408445#post9408445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wild-tiger
Ok, after reading that, I do believe that is the worm that I have seen and since they are a detritivore, I should have nothing to worry about correct?

If you are positive of the identification then yes, you have absolutely nothing to worry about sipunculans being present in your tanks. They are beneficial members of the detritivore crew that one may wish to have in a tank.